[1][2][3] A total of forty teams were drawn into eight groups of five to play home-and-away round-robin matches.

Seven group winners (excluding Qatar, who had already qualified to the World Cup as tournament hosts) and the five best runners-up advanced to the third round.

The draw for the second round was held on 17 July 2019 at 17:00 MST (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

On 5 March 2020, FIFA announced that it would be monitoring the health situation in the region for possible rescheduling of matchdays 7 through 10 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, subject to approval by FIFA and AFC, and agreement of both member associations, the matches may be played as scheduled provided that all individuals' safety meets the required standards.

[3] On the same day, however, FIFA, along with the Bangladeshi and Qatari associations, approved the only second-round match originally scheduled for 2020, Qatar versus Bangladesh, which was played on 4 December.

On 12 March 2021, AFC confirmed the hosts for the group stage scheduled to take place from 31 May to 15 June.